Gandhi's handwritten notes on life sold for $1.69m at Indian auctionThe collection documents key moments in Gandhi’s freedom movement as well as his personal relationship with close aide. 3 hrs agoAsia

Gandhi's handwritten notes on life sold for $1.69m at Indian auction.

Key points

• A rare collection of handwritten notes by Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been sold for $1.69m (£1.3m) at an auction in Mumbai city.
• The notes were the highlight of Saffronart's "86-lot" auction, titled Gandhi: From the Collection of Anand T Hingorani.
• Dinesh Vazirani, co-founder of Saffronart, remarked the collection allowed residents to see Gandhi "through the lens of a close, personal relationship".
• The collection spans more than two decades, documenting key moments in India's independence struggle as well as Gandhi's friendship with Hingorani.
• Auction house Saffronart remarked the sale set a record for the highest rate paid for an Indian historical document at an auction.

For context, a rare collection of handwritten notes by Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been sold for $1.69m (£1.3m) at an auction in Mumbai city.

Notably, the notes, owned and preserved by the family of close associate and freedom fighter Anand T Hingorani, include 688 of Gandhi's handwritten messages on truth, non-violence and self-restraint written between 1944 and 1946.

Gandhi led India's non-violent struggle against British rule and is fondly known as the father of the nation. But the notes offer a more personal glimpse of the man behind the political leader.

Gandhi wrote to Hingorani for around two years after the death of his wife, Vidya, offering him guidance, consolation and encouragement. The messages were afterwards compiled in a book called, A Thought for the Day.

In practice, the notes were the highlight of Saffronart's "86-lot" auction, titled Gandhi: From the Collection of Anand T Hingorani. The lot additionally included letters, manuscripts, photographs and personal objects preserved by the Hingorani family over generations.

Meanwhile, the collection spans more than two decades, documenting key moments in India's independence struggle as well as Gandhi's friendship with Hingorani.

"These reflections offer a rare insight into how Gandhi lived the principles he advocated publicly, making this an especially valuable record of his thought and practice, " Vazirani remarked in an official note.

Other items in the auction were Gandhi's notes on God and the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita, his portable spinning wheel and two letters regarding the spiritual discipline of spinning.

Saffronart has not disclosed the buyer's identity but remarked the notes would remain in India. More like this Rare Gandhi oil portrait sold for more than $200, 000.

For now, gandhi' s handwritten notes on life sold for $1.69m at Indian auctionThe collection remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.